American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials
Special Committee on Research and Innovation
FY2023 NCHRP PROBLEM STATEMENT TEMPLATE
Problem Number: 2023-C-01
There were 6,205 pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. in 2019,
down slightly from 2018, but still up 51% from 2009 (NHTSA, 2020).
Pedestrian fatalities are projected to account for 17% of all traffic
fatalities in 2019. Most pedestrian fatalities take place on local roads and
away from intersections, highlighting a critical need for safe crossings. A key
question, informed by the desire for persons walking or rolling to take the
shortest path from their origin to their destination, is how often to provide
safe crossings. Absent a suitable crossing opportunity, pedestrians may cross
at locations where they are more at risk of injury. Increasing crossing
opportunities for pedestrians can help improve pedestrian safety by attracting
pedestrians to crossings that have been appropriately designed. Different
contexts and demographic information also give rise to varying levels of
walking trips, crossing needs and risk. Prior research found that 25% of the
pedestrians stated that they will travel 550 feet and 50% stated that they will
travel 200 feet out of their way to access a marked crosswalk (NPTS, 1995). The
quality of the crossing (unmarked vs. marked vs. enhanced), type and number of
destinations, number of lanes, and traffic speed all likely play role in the
expected diversion distance. Research is needed to fulfill this fundamental
knowledge gap.
Pedestrians interact with the
environment at a ground level and have frequent demand for accessing destinations
(NACTO). According to the Manual
on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD), crosswalk markings provide guidance for pedestrians who are crossing
roadways by clearly defining and delineating paths for them to cross at
controlled intersections. They are also used to alert road users of potential
crossing pedestrians at uncontrolled locations. The MUTCD, however, does not
provide guidance on the spacing between crosswalks except to suggest that an
engineering study be conducted before a marked crosswalk is installed at an
uncontrolled location (Section 3B.18). An important consideration to note is
that providing marked crosswalks alone may not be sufficient to improve
pedestrian safety, especially on multilane roadways with high traffic volumes,
and enhancements are necessary at these locations (Zegeer et al., 2002).
According to NACTO guidance, pedestrian crossings should be located based on
current or projected pedestrian desire lines, the pedestrian network, and the
built environment. NACTO recommends providing pedestrian crossings every 80-100
meters (262-328 feet) in urban environments and states that if it takes a
person more than three minutes (630 feet assuming pedestrian speed of 3.5
feet/second) to walk to a pedestrian crossing, then they may cross along a more
direct and unprotected route. Other agencies have adopted a minimum spacing
distance which ranges from 200-600 feet between crosswalks.
The City of Portland, New York
State DOT, and Oregon DOT are a few of the agencies that provide guidance on
spacing based on land use context. The City of Portland’s guidelines suggest a
desired spacing of 530 feet inside pedestrian districts, 800 feet outside of
pedestrian districts, and within 100 feet of all transit stops (Ped PDX Plan).
NYSDOT recommends a spacing of 100-150 meters (328-492 feet) in central
business districts based on density, and not to exceed 0.4 kilometers (1,312
feet) in urban or suburban residential/retail areas based on density or land
use, and as needed in low-density rural centers and seasonal use areas (NYSDOT
Highway Design Manual, 2017). The Oregon DOT recommends placing crossings
between 250-550 feet within CBD’s and urban mix contexts, between 500-1000 feet
along residential and commercial corridors, between 750-1,500 feet in suburban
areas and between 250-750 feet in rural areas (ODOT, 2020). In addition to
spacing, the quality of the crosswalk and the crossing experience is also
critical to pedestrians’ perception of safety and comfort, and is likely
associated with diversion distance. There is a critical need to conduct
research to develop pedestrian crossing spacing guidance based on factors such
as land use, pedestrian and vehicle volumes, density, facility type, speed
limit, and road geometry.
The objective of this research is to take a holistic look at
pedestrians’ crossing experience to provide guidance for agencies on optimal
pedestrian crossing spacing under a variety of contexts. The goal is to
determine how far pedestrians are willing to divert to a higher-quality
crossing to improve their crossing experience under various contexts in order
to develop spacing guidance between crosswalks, while considering various
factors such as land use, demographics, transit stops, facility type, speed
limit, geometry, and vehicle and pedestrian volumes. The research should
consider the effectiveness and the quality of the crossing under different
contexts.
This research should include the following tasks:
1.
Review
of the literature and agency manuals to understand the current pedestrian
crosswalk provision guidance, including current minimum and maximum spacing
guidance for marked crosswalks. The review should also include factors
affecting crosswalk compliance and safety.
2.
Conduct
a state-of-practice survey and targeted follow up interviews to explore the
factors agencies use to determine the type of crossing and spacing between
marked crosswalks. The objective of this task is to determine how the existing
guidance was developed, decision variables (e.g., type of crosswalk, spacing,
location, demographics, land use, sight distance and visibility of nearby
crosswalks, lighting, geometry, vehicle speeds, volumes, number of travel
lanes, gaps in traffic, vehicle mix) and if any research was conducted to
develop the guidelines.
3.
Collect
data on the maximum distance pedestrians are willing to deviate from their path
to access a higher-quality crosswalk and explore how the distance varies by
context. This data may be observational or simulated, or a combination.
4.
Develop
a guidebook to reflect guidance on the provision of optimal pedestrian
crossings, including type and minimum and maximum spacing based on context,
demographics, safety, and compliance.
This research has the potential to improve
pedestrian safety and comfort by providing guidance on the quality of crossing
and spacing between crossings across a variety of contexts. Additional benefits
include improved transit access and permeability of arterials or similar roads,
which can support walking and bicycling on neighborhood streets. Agencies can
use this guidance to provide additional crossing opportunities that improve
pedestrian safety.
The results of this research will be used by agency designers
to design new crossings, which will increase legal crossing opportunities for
pedestrians, thereby potentially reducing their risky behaviors.
$500,000
36 months
Sirisha Kothuri, Portland State University
Chris Monsere, Portland State University
Jeremy Chrzan, Toole Design Group
AASHTO Council on Active Transportation
Toks Omishakin, Caltrans Director, and
Chair of the Council on Active Transportation
FHWA (2009). Manual of
Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
NACTO (2013). Urban
Street Design Guide. https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/intersection-design-elements/crosswalks-and-crossings/
FHWA (1995). Nationwide
Personal Transportation Survey.
New York State DOT (2017). Highway Design Manual, Pedestrian Facility Design. Ion
NHTSA (2020). Traffic
Safety Facts 2019. Research Note
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813060
Oregon Department of Transportation (2020). Blueprint for
Urban Design. https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Engineering/Documents_RoadwayEng/Blueprint-for-Urban-Design_v1.pdf
Portland Bureau of Transportation (2019). PedPDX. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/78224
Zegeer, C., Stewart, R., Huang, H., Lagerway, P., Feaganes,
J., and Campbell, B.J. (2002). Safety
Effects of Marked versus Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations.
FHWA-HRT-04-100 https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/04100/04100.pdf